Making Amends
by green-eyed-demoness2010
Summary: A surprise Warbler's meeting derailed Kurt and Blaine's plans for the day, but a completely different surprise will change everything. Can Kurt forgive Karofsky for all that he's done? Can Blaine? What about ND? FIVE Parts Now! Klaine! :D
1. Surprise Meetings

**A/N: Okay, it's official. I am one of those people that get their ideas while in the shower….and while driving….but not at the same time! **

**I was in the shower earlier (duh!) when I started to have a "what if…" scenario forming in my head. It mainly started with either Kurt or Blaine exclaiming, "What the Hell's **_**he**_** doing here?" and this was born. **

**On a side note, I am and forever will be a Klaine shipper. I don't diss on fans of other ships, but for the record, I don't support or ship Kurtofsky. I can understand (sorta) why others like it since it's pretty similar to the plot of Hey Arnold, where the bully and victim develop a relationship….**

…**Or they would have if the second movie had been made! DARN YOU NICKELODEON FOR WUSSING OUT ON BARTLETT'S MOVIE IDEA! **

…**.Sorry, rant's over now. Anyway, I can see why people might like the Kurtofsky pairing, and I respect other fans by not trolling on them, but I am not a fan personally.**

**So, getting back on track, I had an idea of what would happen if Karofsky had dealt with his sexuality issues before Kurt transferred back (*LATE SPOILERS*) but decided he needed closure from Kurt first before fully accepting himself and joining up with New Directions. To do this, he would have to come face-to-face with his old victim in order to apologize and try to make amends, hence the title. This story was spun off from the idea of how Blaine, New Direction, and even the Warblers would react to this meeting. **

**This story will take place right after Regionals and Pav's funeral, but before Born This Way. Basically, anything that happened in BTW didn't happen here, so it's a whole new storyline.  
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**I do not own Glee, the characters, nor am I making money of this….Darn it. **

*****Edit: It has come to my attention that my warnings to flamers at the bottom of each chapter sound pretty arrogant and cocky. Please believe me when I say that I don't do this to intimidate anyone or to seem like a jerk. I do this because I've had some bad experience in the past involving bad reviewers that don't know when to stop. Their words really got to me and I decided to warn flamers beforehand that I won't let them get to me. **

**I will always welcome constructive criticism and help from people who do it to improve and encourage writers. However, I will not accept negatively criticizing reviews because that is not how one helps others. Harsh words don't help anyone in the end. **

**Thank you for reading!  
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><p>Kurt could honestly say that he was bored out of his mind.<p>

Being called in for an" Emergency" Warblers meeting during after school hours, during which he had made plans with Blaine for an ice cream date right after their last class, was definitely not on Kurt's list of things he wanted to do for the day. Listening to other members of the Warblers, mainly Wes, argue and lecture in that uptight, stiflingly proper tone just soured Kurt's mood even further. The only consolation was the warm, slightly calloused hand entwined with his own as Blaine sat close beside him, looking just as bored and put out as he did.

Kurt felt a swell of warmth and excited giddiness as he held his _boyfriend's_ hand intimately in his own, wrapping those tanned fingers with his slim, pale ones in a loving embrace. He could feel the corners of his mouth threaten rebellion with the sheer need to grin like an idiot when he contemplated their recent exchange of feelings during what they had come to call "The Kliss" before Regionals. Heck, if they had been anywhere else, Kurt wouldn't have hesitated in smiling till his face hurt and start giggling like a love-struck school-girl.

However, they were currently stuck in a ridiculous meeting as the council (still mainly Wes) was trying to go over what they could have done to win Regionals and what they needed to work on for their next competition. And Kurt had a feeling that if he abruptly started smiling and shamelessly giggling during this very serious discussion, that Wes would likely threaten to throw his beloved gavel at his head.

Fortunately, _very_ fortunately, Wes had refrained from dumping the blame of their loss entirely on Blaine and Kurt for their duet, because in all honesty, they were absolutely fantastic with their performance, as per unanimous vote from the rest of the group. But he had noted that paying particular attention to judge selections and tailoring their numbers accordingly would be in the group's best interest if they wanted to secure a future placement.

Wes had been going on for a little while now, a majority of the group having long lost interest in his list of complaints and countermeasures, and so were engaged in random activities to fill their time. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt could see Jeff texting on his phone while next to him Randy was having a discrete thumb-wrestling championship with Bailey as Chris slyly cheered them on. Most of the other guys were either whispering to each other, covertly playing with their phones, or were staring off into space in Wes's general direction to at least give the impression that they were paying attention.

Seeing nothing else to distract him, Kurt concentrated on the feeling of Blaine's hand wrapped around his own. He couldn't help the small smile that came over his face when he remembered feeling so unbearably nervous earlier before walking into the commons room while holding hands with Blaine, constantly worrying if any of the other guys would react negatively to their joined limbs. Relief was too light a word to describe the feeling Kurt got when no one even batted an eye at their new intimacy, most even smiling in return when the two sat closer together than normal and started talking quietly to each other before the meeting began. For just a moment, the atmosphere felt so surreal to Kurt that he almost jumped when Blaine started whispering to him, telling him about another song that he wrote and how he wanted Kurt to be the first to hear it when it was done.

The sensation of Blaine's guitar string calloused thumb slowly rubbing over the back of his hand brought Kurt back from his thoughts. Looking over, he caught Blaine's hazel green eyes and blushed lightly at the message behind them. He could tell that Blaine was wishing they were somewhere else, preferably somewhere a bit more private, so they could cuddle up together and eat ice cream like they had planned on doing instead of being stuck in a semi-military environment where gavels could come sailing through the air at any moment should protocol be breached. Kurt squeezed back, telling Blaine that he wants the same thing, but to be patient, that all good things will come in time. Blaine's mouth quirked with withheld laughter, but he kept his silence.

It was this composed silence that was broken when Kurt's hip began…_vibrating_. Both boys jumped slightly when they felt Kurt's phone go off, thankfully on silent, in his pants pocket that was lodged between them. Extracting his hand from Blaine's, pouting at the sudden cold that came with it, Kurt managed to pull his phone from his pocket without Wes knowing. Looking down at the screen, he saw that he had a new text from Finn.

Furrowing his brow, Kurt wondered what could make Finn try to contact him at this time of day. He remembered from his old McKinley schedule that it was time for their after-school Glee practice and the time that the Warblers held a lot of their meetings which Finn knew about, today included when he had to call his brother, saying that he would be home much later than expected.

Kurt started to feel a miniscule tightening in his stomach as he envisioned a multitude of scenarios that could be behind the message. It ranged from Finn's usual child-like boredom where he wanted to talk to Kurt since he was one of the few people associated with New Directions that wasn't involved in the stifling drama currently happening, to Finn wanting to ask Kurt to bake something for him whenever he got home to make him feel better after his recent girl troubles, to finally something related to his Dad or his health. That final scenario prompted Kurt to unlock his screen to view the message. But instead of getting answers, he only received more questions.

_Finn: Someone wants to talk to you. We're outside now. It's serious. _

_What?_ Kurt thought as he stared at the screen like it just told him that God not only exists, but he also works at Breadstix for extra cash. He felt Blaine nudge at his shoulder, asking him silently if something was wrong. Kurt just shrugged and turned the screen for Blaine to see. Blaine's nose scrunched and his triangular brows came together, his own confusion showing. He gestured to the phone, telling Kurt to reply to find out what was going on.

To keep up the air of secrecy, Kurt casually crossed his legs to hide his phone behind his knee. A few quick flicks of his fingers were all it took to come up with a response.

_Kurt: What do you mean 'outside'? Who wants to talk to me? Couldn't this have waited till I got home? IS IT DAD?_

As soon as he hit send, Kurt could feel his heart begin to race in fear at what could be so serious that Finn would contact him out of the blue instead of waiting till he got home in a few hours. Blaine must have seen the apprehension dawning on Kurt's porcelain face because he laid his hand in the crook of Kurt's arm, grasping firmly before allowing his fingers to relax onto the navy material of his blazer. Kurt looked at him again, gratitude shining through the glasz as he attempted to calm himself down. It was most likely nothing as serious as Kurt was imagining it to be. Feeling his phone vibrate again, Kurt tore his eyes from Blaine's to look at the second message.

_Finn: Don't freak. It's not about Burt. He's fine. It's someone else. Oh, and we're right outside your meeting room at Dalton. _

Kurt's eyes widened in disbelief as he nearly gasped out loud. Blaine squeezed his arm, concern filling him when he saw Kurt's face shift to fearful surprise in only a millisecond. Dragging his eyes away from the text, he turned his attention back to Blaine as he slowly turned the screen towards him. Blaine looked confused for a moment before understanding struck him. Kurt's friends were right outside the room they were currently in. Why they were there, he didn't have the slightest clue, but it was obviously enough to worry Kurt almost into a frenzy.

_Kurt: Finn! This isn't funny! Why are you here? What's going on?_

Kurt pressed send and started counting the seconds until Finn answered back. He could feel his lungs start to constrict as it became harder for him to breathe. He couldn't imagine the reason behind the entirety of New Directions traveling almost two hours on a school day to Dalton just so someone could talk to him. He didn't even know who would have such a crisis that required his input that would prompt the visit, but he had a feeling the whole situation wasn't going to turn out very well. His eyes were glued to his phone's screen, expecting at any second Finn's reply.

Blaine could feel Kurt begin to tremble underneath the fabric of his blazer. His hazel eyes softened then narrowed in concern when he saw his boyfriend begin to breathe faster and faster as his bright blue eyes turned gray with panic as they bore into his phone. He reached over, grasping onto Kurt's right hand to gently stroke the skin in hopes of calming Kurt from going into full-blown hyperventilation. Kurt's breath fluttered for a moment before it began to even out, his chest drawing in deeper exhales as Kurt forced himself to stop worrying so much. He leaned over into Blaine's shoulder, without words telling his boyfriend his gratitude in staving off the panic attack. Blaine smiled for a moment, leaning into the touch in return.

But that loving gesture was interrupted when Kurt's phone vibrated again. Both sets of eyes darted down toward the screen as one pale finger unlocked the message.

_Finn: You'll find out soon. We're coming in._

Kurt didn't bother to hold in his gasp this time, easily drawing Wes's attention from whatever topic he was lecturing about. Hearing Wes cut off in the middle of his sentence caused everyone's eyes to focus on the slim brunette Wes was staring at, seated on the couch beside their lead soloist. Many boys frowned in confusion when they saw Kurt's eyes go wide and his normally pale face blanch as he stared into his now visible phone. Many looked to Blaine for an explanation, but the soloist's eyes were staring at Kurt, just as confused as the rest. Seeing how the focus of the meeting had been abruptly derailed, Wes coughed loudly to get everyone's attention once more.

"Uh, Kurt, is there something you'd like to share with the group?" Wes asked, finally allowing a little emotion into his words as he saw the look of fear come over Kurt's face, feeling a surge of worry and protectiveness over the boy.

But Kurt wasn't able to answer, not that he would have had the ability anyway since it seemed like his voice had been stolen with the onset of shock at his step-brother's actions. However, if he had been able to speak coherently, he would have been swiftly interrupted when loud, dissonant knocks erupted from the closed doors of their meeting room. Kurt's eyes flashed to the turning brass doorknob, hoping beyond any reasonable hope that it was a teacher instead of his brother and his friends.

The doors swung wide after the knocks ceased. The Warblers could only watch in confusion and peaked interest as a large group of teens, also known as their former competitors New Directions, entered the room. Four tall, built young men (obviously jocks) were followed by a grouping of varyingly attractive girls (a stylin' diva, some former cheerleaders, a goth, a midget wearing a cat sweater, and a somewhat large, very intimidating female) and a guy in a wheelchair. But it was another figure that instantly caught Kurt's undivided attention, one lone young man that trailed in the back.

The young man was clearly another jock sans letterman jacket, with wide shoulders and solid arms designed for football, with his dark brown hair in a buzzed cut as it covered a wide, round, pensive face. But it wasn't how similar he was to the other boys nor was it how he seemed to hang back from the others that caught the Warblers' attention, it was how he seemed very anxious and on edge as he slowly entered the room that caused him to seem out of place and stand out.

No one got the opportunity to ask why they were in their school, practically invading their glee club's meeting, before Blaine shot to his feet, his normally carefree and happy face narrowed and seething with anger as he stepped in front of Kurt's motionless form.

Some boys would later swear that they heard Blaine _growl_ as the group came closer to him and his boyfriend.

Others would say that they had never seen someone turn so white and terrified than when Kurt's face practically bleached to the color of bone.

Wes never managed to form a sentence in response to McKinley High's New Directions barging into their meeting before Blaine pointed his finger accusingly at the straggler and, for the first time ever in the history of the Warblers, shouted in pure _rage._

"**WHAT THE HELL'S **_**HE**_** DOING HERE?**"

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><p><strong>AN: And that concludes part 1 of the "Making Amends" saga! There will be four parts in total and I have parts 2 and 3 to look over before posting soon. Part 4, however, I still need to write a good ending to…. It's driving me nuts! **

**I will warn people now that in the next few parts characters will seem OOC, but I will include references in the author's notes at the bottom of each chapter to explain. I have good reason for everyone acting the way they do, so please, DON'T FLAME ME ABOUT THE CHARACTERS UNTIL YOU'VE READ THE REFERENCES! **

**Thank you for your time, and please, read and review! **


	2. A Needed Confrontation

**A/N: Here's Part 2! **

**Finally, the Confrontation! What's going to happen? Read and find out! **

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><p>The Warblers were stunned into silence as their lead soloist not only yelled, but also swore, for the first time in their company. But it seemed like Blaine didn't even care at that point, his furious darkened eyes zeroed in on the mystery jock as he squirmed slightly under the shorter boy's scrutiny. Only when an outrageously tall boy with choppy, spiked brown hair lumbered over to Blaine did it seem like the soloist's hackles dropped minutely. His attention turned to the tall boy in front of him, making how the taller boy fidgeted with unease under the shorter boy's glare a bit amusing, but mostly dead serious.<p>

"What is going on here, Finn? Why did you bring _him_ here?" Blaine spat through gritted teeth, too angry to care about being dapper or polite in front of his boyfriend's brother and friends. The other Warblers realized that the tall boy in front of Blaine had to be Kurt's step-brother, a guy the countertenor spoke of with fond annoyance whenever they got the chance to hear hilarious stories involving Kurt's previous year at McKinley and their glee club. But still the Dalton boys were confused as to why Blaine would be so angry at Finn coming to visit or why he was singling out that one guy in the back. Jeff and Randy glanced over to Kurt, hoping for some clue as to what was going on, but the slim brunet was still frozen in what looked like sheer terror.

"Look, dude, he just wanted to come and apologize. He's changed. We've been helping him get through some stuff." Finn hesitantly explained, for once trying to be discrete in a room filled with listening ears. Blaine just snorted in disbelief.

"_Really_, Finn? Or is this just some trick he's pulled on you all to find out where Kurt's been this whole time? You can't trust him!" Blaine countered, still too angry at the fact that his boyfriend's brother, someone who swore to look out for Kurt on his parent's wedding day, would have the gall to bring Kurt's former tormentor to Dalton, the one safe place Kurt had left after hearing that Karofsky was returning to McKinley.

"He just wants to talk to Kurt. That's it. We would never have brought him here if we weren't sure about him turning himself around." Finn pleaded. When the skeptical look didn't come off Blaine's face, Rachel stepped forward.

"He's right, Blaine. I, for one, didn't believe it at first, but we've seen how he's been reformed. He just wants to make peace, find closure. That's it."

Blaine barely held back the scathing retort he wanted to launch at them, wanting with all his might to call the others on their own treatment of his boyfriend over his time in New Directions. How in the beginning, most of them didn't bat an eyelash at Kurt being bullied and physically injured in full view of the student body at McKinley, how even Finn and Puck bullied him in the beginning and didn't do anything to stop the abuse until after knowing Kurt a full year. He wanted to tell them all that people just don't change in a matter of days, with themselves being perfect examples of how long it takes for someone to completely reevaluate their outlook on others different than themselves and make a conscious effort to accept and support alternative lifestyles.

"I'm not buying it. I can't believe you brought him here! You know what he did! How could you do this?" Blaine continued to rant, too righteously upset as the former tormenter of his beloved boyfriend was standing not ten feet away from himself, not fifteen feet away from Kurt. He could feel his heart hurt and his body tense as he thought back on all the horrible things the boy was responsible for, all the pain and torture he caused. Blaine never let up his withering glare at the, now incredibly, uncomfortable jock.

As Blaine was fighting with a majority of the New Directions, while the Warblers all watched in fascinated bewilderment, Kurt had still not moved a muscle since his friends and bully walked into the room. Kurt was paralyzed in terror, too afraid to move and cause unwanted attention from Karofsky. Everything that Blaine was saying, Kurt was repeating in his head. He was outraged, under the fear, that his friends and brother would do something like this.

However, while Kurt may have been stuck to his seat on the couch, his eyes were free to roam after the initial shock had worn off. He looked to the other Warblers as they had no clue what was going on, but were still complacent enough to watch the unfolding drama with focused attention. Over the months that he had attended Dalton, he had never mentioned why he transferred in the first place. Oh, sure, Wes and David would have some vague clue as to why, what with his near breakdown in front of them in the coffee shop on campus after his spying endeavor. But, later when he asked about it, Blaine had said that he never told either of them about Kurt's bullying problems. Relieved, Kurt had extracted a promise from Blaine to keep it that way, to not tell the other Warblers about his dark past.

But, when the main reason behind his mid-semester transfer just waltzed into the commons room, into the only school that he could reasonably be safe at, Kurt realistically concluded that even if all of New Directions left without a word leaving Kurt's mouth, the Warblers would be too curious to let it all go. They would ask him relentlessly about it all, and that was something that Kurt wanted to avoid at all costs. He couldn't have all these boys look at him with pity reflected from their eyes. Kurt Hummel never accepted pity from anyone. Ever.

Looking back over to his group of friends, Kurt managed to glance at Karofsky to see how this whole confrontation was affecting him. The hulking, broad figure looked so much smaller without the bright red McKinley High football team letterman jacket on to cover him up and add the extra bulk to be intimidating. Karofsky just stood there, his gaze to the side, not looking at anybody. Kurt could see him shifting from foot to foot, his hands fiddling with his pockets in agitation as his shoulders were slouched. He was the picture of discomfort and ashamed embarrassment. Kurt thought this to be strange, since had never seen Karofsky as anything other than a walking battering ram, this looming figure that haunted Kurt's days and nights as he stalked through McKinley's halls.

Taking a moment to compose himself, finally allowing some color to come back to his face, Kurt studied Karofsky and thought about his friends' words. They said that they were helping him with his issues, that he had been reformed. In good conscience, Kurt couldn't allow himself to accept it all at face value. What Blaine had said was still plausible, that Karofsky could have tricked his friends into believing he had changed his Neanderthal ways just so he could find Kurt to follow up on his threat. But he also couldn't believe that his friends would be so trusting without proof to support their claims. They knew what he had gone through every day back at McKinley. They all had faced similar harassment by Karofsky or the other ignorant jocks, so just jumping on the whole "let's forgive Karofsky and give him a clean slate" bandwagon without a second thought sounded insane. So Kurt could safely assume that they had to see something in Karofsky that was worth the risk of coming here after school to stage this meeting.

Taking a deep breath, Kurt closed his eyes and thought of the one thing that would help him in this situation.

Courage.

Making his decision, Kurt pushed himself up off the couch and began to slowly walk towards Blaine and his friends. He could feel the many eyes of the Warblers burrowing into his back with each step. Blaine, Finn, and Rachel were still arguing with occasional additions from the others, so he went partially unnoticed until he reached Blaine's back. He laid a hand gently onto Blaine's shoulder, effectively cutting him off from his rant mid-sentence. Blaine turned around to look at Kurt, confused by his boyfriend's intervention, but silenced the question on his tongue when he saw the determined, guarded look on his pale face.

Kurt kept his eyes focused on Karofsky, not letting himself look at Blaine and risk his resolve breaking. He started to walk forward, heedless of Blaine trying to stop him, as he made his way over to stand directly in front of Karofsky. When he stopped within two feet of his former tormentor, Kurt would be lying if he said the old fears he had didn't start to rise again, that his entire body was shaking, if unnoticeably to the others. Feeling the subtle heat coming off of the jock threatened to launch Kurt into memories he never wanted to think about again, the sounds of lockers being slammed and the feel of rough, desperate, angry hands on his face as harsh, foreign breath touched his skin. Internally shaking his head and banishing those thoughts, Kurt stared hard into Karofsky's eyes.

The entire room had fallen silent, but neither the bully nor his former victim was aware of it. They didn't notice how everyone was staring at them like they were the newest attraction at a fairground carnival. Kurt didn't see how Blaine was within seconds of grabbing the slim countertenor, slinging him over his shoulder, and running out of the room, anything to get him away from the jock. Dave couldn't see how the boys of New Directions were watching him intently, taking note of every anxious movement he made, ready to spring into action should he move so much as a finger in Kurt's direction. All they were aware of was the person in front of them.

Dave cautiously met Kurt's eyes, taking in the unspoken questions, past accusations, and heightened wariness that radiated from his glasz eyes. He could tell the smaller boy was intensely curious to find out if his friends were telling the truth about his changed ways. He could also tell that if he made one wrong move, one mistaken breath, that Kurt wouldn't hesitate to signal his friends and apparent boyfriend to intervene. Dave knew that he would have to endure Kurt's appraisal of him if he wanted to make any progress with his life.

After two intense, tension-filled, awkward minutes, Dave saw a change in Kurt's eyes. They were looking at him differently than before, and that made Dave nervous. He couldn't read people very well, much less Kurt, but he would have to be positively blind not to see that Kurt had made a potentially crucial decision about him. Dave was expecting the worst, for Kurt to tell Finn that he was lying and for him to call his prep school dogs on him. He tensed, ready to either fight his way out of a mob of blue blazers or run like the hounds of Hell were snapping at his heels all the way back to Lima.

Of course, what Kurt ended up saying when he opened his mouth threw everyone for a loop.

"Come on. There's a bench in the garden where we can talk privately."

Almost immediately the room descended into chaos. Blaine was loudly protesting Kurt's decision, repeating over and over how he shouldn't trust Karofsky and how there was no way in Hell that he was leaving his boyfriend alone with the bully. Many of Kurt's friends were equally surprised and were just adding to the rising noise pollution levels by also calling out their own doubts about letting Kurt and Dave having alone time. Turns out, even though they were in agreement with Dave's reformation, they were still wary of what could happen to their friend out of the public eye from past experience. The Warblers were so confused by what was going on they started calling out pleas to explain the drama that led up to this confrontation, none louder than Wes and David since they had grown a lot closer to Kurt, and if they were to go by Blaine's vehement protests, they too were a bit uneasy about allowing Kurt to disappear from their sight with the much larger and stronger teen.

Kurt ignored them all, still watching Dave's flabbergasted face as he slowly realized that Kurt wasn't going to have him ambushed. When his thoughts caught up with him after the shock passed, Dave calmed and resolutely nodded. Kurt started walking out the door of the commons room, a slight quirk of his head signaling for Dave to follow him. Of course, Dave wasn't the only one when practically every person in the room began following, too.

A brisk walk down the marbled hallway and a quick turn led the large parade to a side door that opened up into the campus gardens. Kurt barely had his hand on the handle when he felt Blaine rush up beside him, grabbing onto his hand to stop him from opening the door. The bulbous group of people stopped a few feet behind them, giving the two enough room to quietly converse.

"Kurt, you can't be serious! He could hurt you! I'm not letting you go out there alone with him!" Blaine asserted, his body vibrating with worry and frantic panic for his boyfriend's safety.

"Blaine, calm down. I'm not going to be completely alone with him. While I will speak to him in private, you and the others can watch from the patio." Kurt soothed, relieved when some of the tension eased from his tanned face. "If something looks even remotely suspicious, I know you'll come charging in to save me, along with the rest of the cavalry."

Blaine, although pacified that his boyfriend wasn't going to be leaving his sight, still looked incredibly hesitant.

"Blaine, I was going to have to do this at some point. I was going to have to face him eventually, if not for myself, but for him as well. After a lot of thought, I realized that if Dave and I were to never speak to each other again, then we would be the poorer for it. He needs this, Blaine, just as much as I do. This needs to end."

After his small speech, Kurt could feel Blaine loosen his hold on his hand and the doorknob. Staring deep into Blaine's chocolate hazel eyes, Kurt could see the fear and trepidation that his boyfriend was trying so hard to reel in. Kurt hated that he was the cause of his boyfriend's current stress, but he didn't lie when he said that both he and Dave needed this discussion.

It had taken only a month at Dalton for Kurt to realize that he couldn't hate Karofsky anymore like he used to. Oh sure, he still hadn't_ forgiven_ the jock for what he had done and what he had cost him, but he just couldn't find it in himself to simply _hate_ Dave. **(1)**

Kurt had always despised confrontation and violence. He was a pacifist by nature, albeit a sharp, sarcastic, bold pacifist. He lived his life by his father's words, "No one pushes the Hummels around." He didn't let anyone just walk all over him. Kurt Hummel was no one's doormat. However, he also tried his best to avoid instigating a confrontation as well. What happened back in the locker room had been started by Dave, but Kurt had finished it instead of letting it roll off his shoulders like fresh cherry slushy, like he used to do for the first three years of high school, and look where that had gotten him.

Kurt's aversion to violence had led to him not wanting to be associated with negative emotions at all. He didn't like the feeling of hatred welling up in his heart. He loathed how stressed it made him and how helpless he felt when he held so much resentment and spite inside of him, but was unable to physically deal with it. He wasn't like Finn or Puck who used sports and football and violent videogames to let off some steam. Instead, he had music and singing to let it all out. But at Dalton, he couldn't do that as much as he wanted to. He couldn't just get up in front of the Warblers and belt out a song that expressed his frustration, impatience, neglect, and the injustice his life seemed to perpetually be in. He couldn't stray too far from the narrow path that Dalton enforced on its students.

So after a month of being a Dalton student and a Warbler, Kurt realized that while he was still angry and embittered towards Dave for effectively ruining his life, stealing his first boy kiss, threatening to kill him, then forcing him to transfer, he could no longer _hate_ Dave for it. Dave had issues with his sexuality, issues that he had been repressing and denying for who knows how long. And when Kurt fought back, had gotten up in his face about his ill-treatment and bullying, Dave had snapped. He couldn't handle the object of his discriminatory actions, as well as the personification of what he was so desperately trying to deny, daring to show how brave he was in comparison to Dave's cowardice.

It had become painfully clear to both boys that Kurt had never felt ashamed of what he was. Dave, however, did.

So, during an intense inner monologue and argument with himself while he was holed up in his room for a weekend, Kurt had decided to give up on hating Dave. It didn't do him any good to resent the jock now that he had accepted his new reality of being separated from his friends and family. However, that didn't disillusion him to the fact that one day, somewhere down the line, he and Dave were going to have to talk about this. Kurt couldn't in good conscience allow Dave to skate through life in a lie nor could he allow Dave to wallow in misery should he ever decide to come out before graduation. Just the same, Kurt couldn't allow himself to run away from his problems anymore, not when he would soon be out in the world when he starts college. He was going to face discrimination no matter where he went to further his education, so he needed to deal with what had started it all if he was ever going to have a solid foundation of strength in order to overcome any future obstacles.

"Blaine, I have to do this. You and the others can watch and intervene if necessary, but I need you to trust me." Kurt pleaded. When Blaine looked into Kurt's glasz eyes, he knew he couldn't deny the boy's request. He had always regretted his own cowardice when he had transferred to Dalton. He never got the closure of having his bullies be punished for what they did nor did he ever confront them when he had the chance. Sure, he had been on the receiving end of a horrible beating, but he would have shown them that they hadn't broken him. Kurt was doing what he himself didn't. His incredible, beautiful, courageous boyfriend was going to show that even though Karofsky had run him out of McKinley, he had not broken Kurt's spirit.

Blaine finally nodded slowly, releasing his tight grip on Kurt's hand. He stepped back a few inches and smiled softly, sadly, at Kurt. Kurt smiled back, daring to rub his fingers over Blaine's hand while it rested on his own, a small but meaningful show of comfort. With a firm nod, Kurt pushed open the door and stepped out into the gardens.

The first thing they all saw was a large, rectangular cement patio that ran along the outside of the building. Beyond the patio's edge, stood a lush garden, harboring fine specimens of perennial flowers and vegetation, secluded in rounded beds that flowed in free curves around the side of the building and out towards a whitewashed gazebo located in the middle of the lawn. Fresh bursts of pinks, oranges, yellows, reds, and magentas spilled over lush emerald green leaves as they overflowed onto pale gray and white stones that lined the beds. The air was strongly perfumed by the floral scents, but the gentle spring breeze kept the atmosphere from being overwhelmed.

By the corner of a sloping flower bed stood a single, long light gray marble bench.

Kurt started walking over the patio and crossed into the grass. Dave stood motionless for a moment before starting to walk after him. Neither Blaine nor any of the other students made to follow them, staying within the boundary of the patio, at a perfect vantage point to watch the up and coming conversation, but would be unable to hear it. The New Directions filed outside to line up near the hall's large bay windows, Blaine standing with them, while the Warblers looked crammed together by the door, all eyes focused on the two figures as they approached the bench.

Blaine's eyes never left Kurt's form as he watched his boyfriend cross the lawn and primly sit down on the bench, with Dave hesitantly copying him, slowly sinking onto the bench roughly a foot away from Kurt.

The two boys sat in silence for a moment, neither knowing how to start the conversation they both desperately needed to have. Each second seemed more awkward than the last as they kept ticking by, causing Kurt to cross his legs and his arms out of habit while Dave kept trying to stare at anything and everything other than Kurt. After five minutes, Dave couldn't take the tension any longer.

"I'm sorry." Dave closed his eyes and sighed as soon as the words left his lips. Kurt rolled the words around in his head for a moment before responding.

"I think you are, but the question is why." Dave looked at Kurt again, confusion easily showing through his scrunched brows.

"Why what?"

"Why are you sorry? Is this just a requirement that you need to fill, or are you genuinely sorry for what you've done?" Kurt asked, looking at Dave guardedly.

Dave took a minute to think about his answer. "Both."

Kurt chuckled slightly, both teens surprised by the sound. "At least you're honest."

"Heh, yeah, well I don't have much of a choice now." Kurt looked at Dave, his eyebrow quirked, silently asking him to explain. Dave sighed, rubbing forehead in frustration.

"I…I told Azimio." Kurt's eyebrow's shot into this hair, his mouth dropping open slightly.

For some reason, Kurt never really considered how Dave would come out, if he ever decided he wanted to. He definitely didn't see Dave coming out to _Azimio_ of all people, regardless that they were best friends. Azimio had to be one of the most homophobic people in all of McKinley, and he and Dave both knew that.

"What?"

"I told Azimio about being…gay." Dave whispered, his face looking pained as he clenched his fists on his knees. "He didn't take it very well."

Kurt sat their silently, ruminating over Dave's revelation. He could only imagine how much Azimio's reaction must have hurt Dave, one of his longest friends, if he was willing to show his pain so openly to Kurt.

"I'm sorry." Dave's head whipped up, his eyes faintly glassy and wet. He looked shocked and surprised at Kurt's words. Kurt noticed.

"Dave, I can be a pretty vindictive bitch sometimes, but I'm not so cruel as to revel at the fact that you lost your best friend since grade school. You've known and been friends with Azimio since we were in first grade. Losing someone that integral to your life is going to be unbearably painful and I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Dave could hear the sincerity of Kurt's words and see the truth shining out of his pale blue eyes. Kurt was honestly sorry over the fact that Dave's best friend had been a homophobic asshole and cut off all ties to him. Dave himself sometimes had a hard time believing that his best friend could just drop him so suddenly and resort to shunning him like the plague in a matter of minutes. He had hoped….well, not so much as hoped, but had unrealistically dreamed, that Azimio wouldn't have cared about him being gay. He had wanted to know that Azimio would have still had his back, even after the confession, but it was only a dream. The real Azimio had gone from shocked to disbelieving to furious to stone-cold silent within the span of a minute, only to step away from Dave and not once look back. Seeing his best friend just walk away from him, like he didn't even exist, had torn Dave apart.

It was only after he told New Directions what he had done did anyone try to comfort him. Sure, the Glee guys were a bit hesitant and uncomfortable with dealing with emotions, especially when they were coming from another jock, but they had tried. They had stuck by him when Azimio had passed them in the halls, throwing hate-filled, acidic glares at their way, until he passed. Putting on a brave front, Dave had waited until he was completely alone before he let any of his grief and despair show. It was during that emotional release that he realized that this must have been what Kurt had felt every time he had glared, slushied, tripped, shoved, or taunted the slim brunet. It was in that one moment that Dave had felt true remorse for what he had done to Kurt.

Dave let out a ragged breath. "Thanks."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I'm betting that some people are wondering about Kurt's reasoning and feelings about Dave, so …**

**(1) I thought very long and hard about how to transition Kurt's emotions about Dave from anger to some form of patient acceptance. I took inspiration from the meeting in BTW for this chapter. I won't assume what other viewers saw, but I saw that Kurt had stopped being afraid of Dave and accepted his decision about keeping his sexuality under wraps. I suspect that for a person to reach this point about the guy that basically sexually assaulted them and threatened their life, well, that person had to have plenty of time to think it all through and partially move on. So, here we are. Kurt took the time to work out his own feelings and thoughts concerning Dave, and found a way to move on. Point made. **

**And, just in case anyone out there doesn't accept my reasons and storyline, save it. If you flame me, I will ignore you and laugh at your attempts. Con-crit is always welcomed and appreciated! **

**Part 3 coming soon!**


	3. Through Different Eyes

**A/N: AH! Now we're going to see from the glee clubs' point-of-view! Oh! Drama!**

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><p>Both glee clubs were huddled together as they watched Kurt and Dave's exchange of words, an air of tension permeating the space around them, mainly centering on New Directions. The Warblers were torn between watching Kurt and this other teen and watching their former competitors as they too watched. The Warblers could see how some of the guys were pacing slightly, fiddling with their hands in agitation, while the girls were absently playing with their hair or clothes to ease the anxiety, worried expressions painting everyone's faces with tense mouths and narrowed, shifting eyes. They looked to see Blaine acting just as on edge, their lead soloist never once letting his gaze stray from the two on the bench, watching him clench his fists so tightly his knuckles went a solid white as his posture remained stiff.<p>

Wes and David couldn't help but feel guilty for not knowing about what was happening. They had known Kurt from the day he transferred, and yes, they had been a couple of jerks to the poor boy when it came to the Warblers, but outside of those practices, they had done everything they could to make Kurt feel welcome and appreciated.

Sure, there were times when their differing senses of humor or trains of thought led to some awkward moments for both parties, but they didn't let that stop them from trying to get to know the slim brunet. They found Kurt to be a very interesting, sarcastic, funny individual, whenever he allowed himself to relax around others and show off his unique wit and ideas. They liked him a lot. Plus, seeing how happy he made Blaine just sealed the deal when they could clearly see that they were made for each other. Anyone that could make their best friend so happy and gay (no pun intended) was a keeper in their book.

But seeing how terrified Kurt had been when his friends had walked through that door, and how furiously Blaine had reacted, told both of them that they were missing something very significant. Wes looked at David, and without speaking a word, both agreed that it had to have something to do with why Kurt transferred to Dalton in November last year.

Of course, Wes and David were insanely curious as to why Kurt had transferred in the middle of the semester, a near unheard of occurrence. They certainly didn't forget how the guy had teared up, becoming upset almost to the point of hyperventilation, when they were speaking to him after catching him spying, but when Blaine had asked them to leave, they never heard another word about it. Even when they confronted Blaine weeks later after hearing about Kurt's imminent arrival, Blaine had clammed up. He wouldn't say a word as to Kurt's reason why. After a while, Wes and David just gave up. If Blaine wasn't going to tell them, then obviously Kurt wasn't going to either. Best not to churn the waters before the guy had even settled in yet.

But over time, the whole situation was forgotten. The curriculum at Dalton kept them all busy, the Warblers practices filling up any and all extra time, and when the relationship drama between Blaine and Kurt began to heat up around Valentine's Day, then subsequently explode over one weekend that involved some kind of party, but come back together in a joyous celebration of their first kiss before Regionals, the main reason behind Kurt's transfer had slipped from everyone's memory.

Now, the two council members could see that that was a very bad move. This whole surreal situation had thrown them all for a loop, leaving a large majority of the Warblers and Blaine's best friends swinging in the breeze. If they were going to be of any help to Blaine and Kurt in the near future, they needed something to go on. Nodding to each other, they broke from the main group of Warblers and advanced on Blaine.

"Blaine, dude, what is going on? What's happening with Kurt?" David asked, startling Blaine out of his vigilant surveillance. Blaine sighed in frustration, rubbing his face with his hands as he grappled for some kind of answer. Many members of New Directions noticed how Blaine was hesitating in answering the other two.

"Guys, it's very complicated. I don't know if I should say."

"Blaine, it may be complicated, but keeping it under wraps isn't exactly helping right now. Whatever happened, we want to help you both. We Warblers take care of our own. You know that. You can tell us." Wes entreated, openly pleading with Blaine to tell them the truth. Blaine just shook his head.

"Guys, I can't. Kurt doesn't want-"

"Wait, Kurt never told them?" Finn interrupted, looking thoroughly confused. All three looked up to the gangly, tall teen that had lumbered over to them.

"Told us what?" David asked. Finn looked like he was about to tell them, but Blaine intervened.

"No, he didn't, Finn. He didn't want anyone here to know." Blaine confirmed, which only made Finn more confused. "A better question would be, do _you_ know? Do you know exactly what happened, or do you know only what Karofsky told you?"

Blaine's voice held a bitter edge, making Finn flinch slightly as he understood exactly why Blaine was so angry. "Yeah, I know. Kurt told me a month after he transferred. Believe me, when I heard, all I wanted was to beat Dave's face in, but Kurt convinced me not to. He said that it wouldn't help anyone when he was already officially going to Dalton. I still wish I did, though." Finn's normally calm, vaguely confused expression turned dark and stormy, his posture straightening, becoming more threatening with the increasing amount of anger the tall teen felt.

"Okay, seriously, what is going on? What happened between that guy and Kurt?" Wes asked. He was getting frustrated with everyone dancing around his inquiries. However, his answer came from an unexpected source.

"He stole one of my dolphin's sweet boy kisses."

Everyone, every member from the Warblers to the New Directions, looked at the tall, blonde cheerleader that looked like she wanted to cry.

"What? What does a dolphin have to do with this?" David asked, clearly thrown by the marine mammal comment. Most of the Warblers were in the same boat.

"Dolphins are gay sharks, so Kurt is my dolphin. Karofsky was really mean and stole one of his sweet boy kisses and made him really sad, so he had to leave McKinley."

All it took were those two simple sentences to drastically change the mood of both groups. The Warblers, now fitting all the pieces together, were furious, enraged, and just two milliseconds from storming over to the bench and ambushing the jock. The bigger, more muscular boys began to crack their knuckles in preparation as smaller members began to whisper to each other, concocting diabolical plans of revenge the likes of which the hallowed halls of Dalton had never seen before. The boys of New Directions looked just as outraged, but kept their reactions under control.

"_What_?" Wes hissed through clenched teeth. David was too angry to even say anything, the threat of unleashing a never-ending stream of epithets and curses hanging over his head.

"It's true. Karofsky sexually assaulted Kurt by kissing him without his consent, and then threatened his life the next day if he said anything to anyone." Blaine replied, his voice hard as diamond, returning to watch the two boys on the bench. "The guy was in such total denial of his being gay that he took it out on Kurt for years: physical abuse, verbal abuse, and finally sexual abuse with a death threat thrown in to round it all off. _That's_ why Kurt transferred."

Wes and David were stunned into silence. The Warblers looked at if they had all been punched in the stomach with a cannon ball.

Now, Wes and David had sometimes conferred about why Kurt had shown up in the middle of a semester, something that doesn't happen very often if at all, but none of their ideas had ever come close to the horror that Blaine had just confirmed. All of a sudden, the circumstances of their situation finally hit them. They rounded on New Directions, eyes blazing with anger as they clenched their shaking fists.

"And you brought that bastard _here_!" They quietly exclaimed in unison. Finn had the decency to look uncomfortably guilty and ashamed, most of the others mimicking him, but obviously that wasn't enough to assuage Wes and David. "_WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? _He could _hurt_ Kurt!"

Santana, getting a headache from the arguing, marched right up to Wes and David, her black eyes narrowed and pissed. "He can't, you idiots! Not only would we put a stop to it before the guy landed a single punch, but if he did, he'd be expelled permanently! He can't do anything to anyone in Glee, past or present, because it's part of his probation."

"What probation?" Blaine interceded. Santana turned to him, swishing her raven hair over her shoulder.

"Karofsky had a lot of problems with Glee after Kurt left. Some fights broke out and the warnings weren't stopping it. Figgins and Beiste had enough and put Karofsky on probation. He was_ required_ to join New Directions and stop his bullying. If he did anything to break his probation, he'd be expelled with no second chances. His dad supported the decision, so Dave can't get out of it. Not that he had a chance of getting away with anything. Sue put cameras up all over the school after Porcelain's transfer. If Dave so much as sneezes out of turn, she'd be on his ass faster than you could blink."

"But that doesn't mean he's actually sorry! He could be pulling one over on all of you! How can you be sure?" Blaine accused, still not believing that Karofsky could have changed his ways. "What's stopping him from lying to Kurt's face, then jumping him later out of school?"

Santana just looked at him, her face unreadable. "He has no choice. He's out, Blaine, in front of the _entire_ school. He_ can't_ go back to being the big hetero jock on campus."**(1)**

Blaine felt the breath rush from his lungs like a lake reservoir busting through a faulty dam.

"What?" Santana didn't answer him, but Mercedes had walked up to take over.

"It's true, boy. After Dave had been put in probation, he was also ordered into mandatory counseling with Ms. Pilsbury. After ten or so sessions, along with a couple weeks hanging with us after school in glee practice, he decided to come out to his friend, Azimio. Of course, that was a huge mistake since Azimio's like the most homophobic guy in all McKinley. So it wasn't a big surprise that the next day at school, everyone knew about it." Blaine still looked winded, with Wes and David not too far behind.

"Look, I know that we shouldn't have cared, not after what he did to my boy for all those years, but…. Blaine, he had nowhere else to turn, nowhere else to go. Everyone turned on him, the jocks turned on him, it was like watching Kurt all over again. But Dave didn't have Kurt's years of experience to build up a thick skin, he couldn't just brush it off like Kurt used to. Sure, he tried putting on a brave face, but he was going to break, Blaine. He was going to shatter if no one at least tried to support him. We weren't there for Kurt when we should have been, we know that. We just didn't want to make the same mistake twice." Mercedes' face crumpled as she tried to hide her tears with her hand. Her breathing was shaky and ragged before she shook her head, the strength coming back into her eyes.

"We were there for Dave when he didn't have anyone else. His family is okay with his sexuality, if a little uncomfortable with the whole thing, but school was becoming a nightmare for him. He finally understood the consequences of everything he ever did and said to Kurt because he was experiencing it for himself. He was seeing life through Kurt's eyes. He finally felt sorry for what he did. When he told us about wanting to personally apologize to Kurt for his actions, sure, we were a bit uneasy about telling him where Kurt was, but he proposed a compromise. _He_ was the one who suggested that we all come with him to do this. That's the only reason we allowed it, Blaine." **(2)**

Blaine had to take a moment to fully absorb what Mercedes had revealed to him. She was telling him that Dave was living life in Kurt's shoes, seeing how the other half of the coin lived. Dave was seeing how his past actions had impacted Kurt by experiencing it for himself. Of course, Blaine wasn't going to just up and forgive the boy for what he did to Kurt, but he at least was trying to understand how Dave might have changed. Seeing through someone else's eyes can certainly have that effect.

He could feel his emotions and thoughts begin to roil and riot inside of him. He could practically hear his heart clamoring to keep his guard up for Kurt's sake, to not give the jock a single inch for fear that he would take a mile. He never wants to leave his boyfriend in a situation where he might get hurt again, and so his heart was trying to convince him to not feel compassion towards Dave.

However, his head was presenting a compelling counter-argument. His brain was telling him that now that Dave was out, he would no longer feel the need to act that way towards others. The only reason he was so horrendous to Kurt was because he was so uncomfortable with his own sexuality, that Kurt's out-and-proud attitude scared the hell out of him. His attempts at fighting his own sexuality translated into making Kurt's life a nightmare, that if he drove Kurt away (which he succeeded in doing), then he would no longer have to face his own inner demons. But that didn't turn out to be the case.

Even when Kurt left, his presence was still felt at McKinley through his friends and brother. They continued to support Kurt, mentioning him and thinking of him, that even without Kurt physically being there, he was still very much a part of McKinley's world. Dave's fights with New Directions had always, in some way, been traced back to Kurt. And when Figgins and Beiste told him enough was enough, and enacted the probation, Dave became fully immersed in Kurt's old world of glee and being an outcast. The counseling just helped him to open up without being violent or paranoid, allowing for Dave to see that being gay wasn't a punishment, but was just as natural as breathing air. It was only when he tried to reach out to the wrong person, did he get burned.

But he was able to find support elsewhere in New Directions.

Yeah, they had their problems with each other, a lot of old grudges being brought to the surface as well as more recent transgressions like Kurt's forced transfer, but when all was said and done, Dave was becoming another Kurt in their eyes, but he was far more fragile.

Blaine almost snorted in derision when he thought that. That huge jock would never normally be described as fragile by any means, but upon seeing him when he entered the commons room, even through Blaine's angry haze, the boy did look anxious and frightened, like a doe crossing an open field in hunting territory. Blaine would had to have been blind to miss how jumpy and on edge he was, a startling similarity to how Kurt used to be whenever he heard a loud, random noise or whenever a large Dalton boy walked toward him in a hallway. But Blaine had seen for himself how Kurt would pull on his mask, his façade of uncaring, superior confidence and face whatever the day had for him. It became clear that Dave would have to learn that particular skill the hard way.

Blaine sighed. His circuitous thoughts were starting to spiral into each other, becoming confusing and irritating. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at Mercedes, who had been patiently silent throughout his contemplation. "Mercedes, I'm not ready to forgive him, nor do I think I ever will, but if he's truly apologetic, I can tolerate him. Happy?"

"That's all anyone can ask of you, Blaine. I was just like you when all this started. I didn't want to forgive or forget what he did to my boy, taking him away from me. But over time, I just had to let it go. I haven't totally forgiven him either. I don't think any of us have. But the point is that we're trying to do something positive for someone else, to stop what happened to Kurt before it starts happening to him."

Mercedes trailed off for a second, thinking over her next words.

"There were so many times I wished I could go back in time to the start of high school and do it all over again. If I had known then what I know now, I would have been there for Kurt, no matter what. We were all islands back then, never really connecting with anyone. We didn't have friends, well, not Kurt or Rachel or some of the others. We dealt with each day alone. Man, I wish I could have changed that for Kurt."

Mercedes started getting teary-eyed and excused herself. Blaine watched her go with sympathetic, pained eyes. He understood what she meant. He had felt that way a lot when he was younger, when the bullying was becoming especially bad for him. He, too, had wanted to start all over, but he knew life didn't work that way. He would never be able to redo those middle school years when he was discovering himself, nor would he be able to stop the harassment that eventually occurred due to his openness and blind hope for understanding from his peers. He would never be able to take back the many tears he had cried for every slur and insult his supposed friends threw at him, and neither would he be able to go back and take a stand against the many injustices he suffered. But he was able to learn from his past mistakes and those of others.

It'll take a while for any semblance of forgiveness to grow for Blaine, but, perhaps it wasn't impossible. Wasn't that what Kurt had been trying to teach him all along without even realizing it? Blaine had watched as Kurt regained his confidence and pride from the many losses in his life. He had watched his boyfriend come back again and again, determined to be stronger than before. Maybe what Kurt had been doing was silently teaching Blaine to let go of the past and conquer his fears by setting the example.

Sure, there were times when what Karofsky had done was left hanging in the air of their conversations, unspoken but still ever present, but not once did Kurt express any hatred for the boy, just anger over what he had done. Anyone had the right to be angry over such actions, but Kurt never went beyond that. He had successfully let it go. And while the threat remained, or so they had previously believed, Kurt wasn't letting it rule his life. He had moved on. Perhaps, Blaine could, too.

Looking back over to look at Kurt, seeing how poised and perfect he looked while sitting less than 12 inches from who used to be his worst nightmare, Blaine felt a smidgeon of hope swell in his heart. If his beautiful, strong, courageous Kurt could overcome his past and face it head on, then Blaine could as well.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Kurt…" Blaine whispered to the wind.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So we have made it to the end of part 3! The references are as follows.**

**Okay, I know that in the episode "Sexy", that Santana admitted to loving Brittany but didn't want to come out, this being emphasized when she refused to wear the shirt Brittany made her for BTW. Also, she was using Karofsky as a cover to keep it that way, but in this fic, Karofsky dealt with being gay before that could happen, so she's still in the closet for all I know and Karofsky isn't her beard. **

**I'm guessing that serious Mercedes fans are reading this and saying "WTF?" about her reaction and support for Karofsky. I agree. Normally, or as I would expect in the show, she'd raise Hell over what he did to Kurt and threaten to cut him before doing anything else. However, I saw this situation as her slowly coming to grips with Karofsky not being such an asshole that everyone automatically expects him to be, and that he really does want to change and apologize. Like I wrote, she HAS NOT forgiven him yet, but it could be possible. This goes for Blaine too. I'm not saying they've forgiven him just like that, but that it is a process to forgive someone that takes a long time, but it's not impossible**

**I hope that people really think about my reasons for the OOC of the characters instead of flaming me in badly constructed reviews.**

**Flame me, I laugh at you. Con-crit will be welcomed and appreciated!**

**P.S. If my spelling's off with people's names, just tell me for future reference. I really can't be bothered to troll Glee Wiki to keep the spelling absolutely perfect. I focus on more important grammatical mistakes. Sides, I've seen worse.  
><strong>


	4. Forgiveness And Laughter

**A/N: Okay, so maybe this will be a five-parter instead….heh heh. -_-'**

**I still don't have the total ending completed, but it's almost done. Just thought I would separate it out a bit more and add a dash of humor. I've heard in reviews (OMG! I LOVE ALL OF YOU WHO FAVED/ALERTED MY STORY! THANK YOU SO MUCH!) that my supposed OOC isn't as obvious or weird, so…YAY! I promise to work on the ending in the next few days, so please be patient and enjoy the funny times between Kurt and Dave! **

**I don't own anything….Damn. **

**Con-crit is always welcome!**

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><p>"I've been in counseling, too." Dave muttered, still not looking at Kurt after pulling himself together after almost breaking down. Admitting his weaknesses and grief over losing Azimio's friendship and being comforted by his former victim had almost broken what self-control Dave had left.<p>

Kurt hummed in thought. "Really? You mean Ms. Pillsbury is actually helping you, or is she just giving you a never-ending stream of pamphlets?"

Dave managed a small chuckle while Kurt lightly smiled at the new sound. "Well, it started with pamphlets, but when she figured out that actually talking about things was the only way to make progress, she started asking me how I felt every two minutes. It was really annoying until she started asking real questions like why I had issues with New Directions and how I could find compromises with them and myself. We didn't hit on the gay thing until the sixth session. As soon as I said it, I felt…lighter. Like I had been carrying a 75 pound barbell on my shoulders and it finally came off. Of course, she froze up for a second, then started sanitizing her desk while asking more questions. It took two hours for the smell of Pinesol to come out of my nose."

Kurt had started lightly snickering during Dave's account, but outright laughed at the image of Ms. Pillsbury in a hazmat suit, scrubbing her desk with a toothbrush while asking Dave, "Now, how does that make you _feel_?"

"Oh, well, at least that's better than what she did for me. I have _no_ idea where she gets her reference material from, but I seriously doubt it's made in Ohio."

Dave had settled down for a minute, waiting for Kurt to get his breath back from the spontaneous giggle fit he had. When Kurt was once again perfectly poised, Dave started again.

"Around our tenth session, we finally touched on you and what I'd done to you. I know that what I did is unforgivable, and I'm not asking for forgiveness because that would be pretty arrogant and I don't really deserve it, but I realized that I needed to talk to you if I was ever going to move past it. I've accepted that I'm gay, Kurt. I'm getting educated about it, too. **(1)** Ms. Pillsbury told me that if I wanted to talk to others in the community or other counselors, then she'd help me out. I took her up on it. And while it may have pissed off Miss Diva over there, I ended up talking to her dads."

Kurt's eyebrows rose again. "You did? That's great, Dave. How'd it go?"

Dave chuckled again. "Well, after I got over the fear that they would mess with me in revenge for what I did to you, they really helped me a lot. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any questions, some that were pretty embarrassing, but they were really patient and answered everything they could. When I explained why I did those things to you and the others, they weren't judgmental like I thought they would be. They understood why I was so scared in the first place, considering where we all live and the society we grew up in. They knew that I felt guilty about all of it, so they advised me to find closure. To do that, I had to talk to you."

Kurt smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did. I've wanted to talk to you, too."

Dave's head jerked up, his eyes wide in surprise. "You did?"

Kurt nodded. "Yes. I knew that none of this would be over unless we cleared the air or came up with some kind of truce. Even better, you came here to do just that. I know for a fact that Blaine wouldn't have allowed me to go to you, no matter what I did to convince him otherwise."

Dave became confused for a moment, his brows knitted together as he tried to remember. "Wait, is he the guy that showed up at school that day, the one that started preaching at me?"

Kurt giggled a bit. "Yeah, that's Blaine. He volunteered to come to McKinley just for that confrontation."

Dave whistled. "Damn, that's one devoted boyfriend you've got then. He's what, five feet tall total?"

Kurt playfully glared at him. "He's 5' 8", for your information! And he wasn't my boyfriend then. We got together right before Regionals." Kurt couldn't stop the wide, satisfied grin that took over his mouth when he remembered _how_ they got together. If there was _ever_ a reason to thank Pavarotti for kicking the bucket, then that would be it.

Dave watched the different emotions cross Kurt's pale face, feeling a small stab of jealousy at seeing one half of a clearly happy gay couple that had miraculously formed in Ohio of all places, but then what Kurt said caught up to him. "Wait, what? You two just got together a week ago? How's that possible? I thought you two were together months ago when he showed up to school with you."

Kurt snorted. "Ha! Nope. We had only known each other for a few days by then."

"But he had left his school in the middle of the day, a school that's two hours away from McKinley, just to help you confront me, something that took all of five minutes? Man, he must have been seriously crushing on you for him to do all that."

Kurt smiled smugly. "Well, it's only recently come to my attention that he was, but had decided to be a mentor/friend only. Believe me, it was ridiculously frustrating when I wanted to be in a relationship with him, but was pushed into the friend zone. Stupid GAP…" Kurt trailed off, muttering colorful phrases about the clothing store. Dave was completely lost.

"What's wrong with the GAP?"

Kurt groaned as he rubbed his forehead, barely controlling his urge to run his hand through his hair and pull on it. "On Valentine's Day, he got all of the Warblers to serenade the assistant manager at the GAP with a song about sex toys in public. The guy turned him down, everyone was embarrassed, and I got my hopes up just to have them stepped on, as well as confined to the friend zone with 'When Harry Met Sally.' "

Dave just looked at him like he grew a second head. "Well….that's confusing….and weird. Don't they get together in the end?"

"I know! Wait…how do you know that?"

Dave shrugged. "My mom loves that movie. She's made me watch it well over a hundred times. But, seriously, he did that to you on Valentine's Day?"

Kurt nodded. "Yep."

"Ouch."

"Ditto. Kinda made it worse that I told him how I felt, but he said he didn't want to mess up our friendship by becoming boyfriends."

Dave winced. "Double ouch."

"No kidding."

Dave perked up again when he remembered something else. "What about what happened at Miss Diva's party? Puck couldn't keep his mouth shut about it. He mentioned you and some other guy, but then starting talking about a drunk Rachel, bad karaoke, and following Lauren around like a puppy."

Kurt just glared at him a little and crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you seriously going to bring up all of my bad memories concerning Blaine?"

Dave shrugged. "Hey, listening to the guys talk about the crazy shit that's happened in New Directions is pretty much the only interesting thing to do other than another Journey song or listening to Rachel harp on about absolutely nothing."

Kurt opened his mouth to deliver a counter-argument, but stopped when he didn't have one. Dave had a point. New Direction's drama was better than day-time television soaps.

"Fine. It turns out that Blaine plus alcohol plus a grabby Rachel during Spin the Bottle is enough to make him confused about his sexuality. We had a big fight about it, but made up a few days later when a sober kiss with Rachel cleared up his confusion, reasserting that he was 100% gay."

Dave considered this. "Oh. Well, that was good for you, wasn't it?"

Kurt sighed. "Yes. At least, until our next performance."

"What, more assistant managers in clothing stores?"

"No. Crawford girls from Dalton's sister school. He didn't go for any of them, but the day did not end up how I pictured it."

"What happened?"

Kurt began shaking his head frantically as his cheeks turned a vibrant pink. "Oh, no, I'm not reliving that experience, especially not with you. No offense, but that was just too embarrassing to be repeated."

Dave lifted his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, no pressure. But, seriously, how did you two get together with all of this going on?"

Kurt smiled broadly."A dead bird."

"Say what now?"

"A dead bird. That's how we got together. It's tradition to give a real warbler to every new member of Dalton's glee club to take care of. I got Pavarotti. A week before Regionals he died and I was really upset about it. I went completely against the Dalton norm by dressing in my own clothes and singing a eulogy for him during a meeting. Blaine said that watching me do 'Blackbird' made him see the light. The next day, he finally told me how he felt and we got together."

Dave hummed thoughtfully to himself as he began to piece together the different situations. He sat back, staring off into the empty air before him, looking for all the world like he was contemplating a critical, vital-to-the-future-of-Earth issue. Kurt watched him for a moment, wondering what could have consumed Dave's attention so quickly when the other boy abruptly turned to him, completely serious and deadpan.

"Blaine is _really_ dense."

Silence ensued…

…Until they both broke down laughing their asses off, nearly falling off the bench and into the begonias behind them. They laughed until they felt tears rolling down their flushing cheeks, their stomachs burning as the muscles constantly contracted, and their lungs were protesting the lack of air.

If that one statement had been uttered by any other person on the planet, Kurt thought, he would never have laughed so hard. Instead, he would have heartily agreed and continued with the conversation as planned.

But, it wasn't just anyone that had said it. Oh no. It just so happened to be Kurt's former bully with denial issues that had to have stated something so heartbreakingly obvious that it became over-the-top hilarious. Kurt felt each bubble of laughter pop in his stomach before it came floating out of his mouth. He couldn't stop himself at all. He knew that the others must think they've gone batshit bonkers, what with two previously sworn enemies cackling like mad hens together over who-knows-what, but Kurt couldn't bring himself to care. It was like all of his built-up stress, worries, and fears had been obliterated as he shared in the insanity that was his life.

Looking over after catching a much-needed breath, Kurt saw the Dave was no better. His face had turned a dark pink, he mouth wide in a toothy smile that Kurt knew he had never seen on the jock's face before. He could see how being open and honest about himself had really changed the boy. He no longer looked like he was ready to launch a paranoid punch or spit out a slur, his countenance forever soured with a scowl. Instead, he looked a lot younger than Kurt knew his age to be. He looked actually happy for once.

Kurt smiled when he realized this. Dave was finally happy with himself. He had accepted that small part of him that he once denied existed, allowing for him to pull away from the fear of exposure and rejection with much more ease than ever before. And yes, while it was sad and ultimately unfortunate that he had lost a dear friend in the process, Kurt had a feeling that Dave would bounce back in no time. Being surrounded by people that truly accepted you can do that.

For the first time in their whole conversation, possibly the first time in their whole high school career, Kurt reached out to Dave. He could feel the large jock freeze in shock as he laid his hand on the bigger teen's shoulder. Slowly turning his head, Dave looked into Kurt's eyes, somewhat confused by what he saw there. He could tell that Kurt's eyes were warmer, friendlier than they had ever been towards him, but he didn't know the reason why. The smile on the boy's pale face seemed to match the emotion behind those blue eyes, and what came out stunned Dave to his core.

"I forgive you, Dave."

Dave's entire body jerked suddenly when he heard those quiet words come out of Kurt's mouth. He could feel the slight sting of tears appear behind his eyes, but he didn't bother trying to wipe them away. His arms were numb as his heart threatened to beat so hard that his ribs would break. As small, relieved tears slid down his face, Dave began to smile.

"Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt smiled back before jerking his head over to the patio. "Now, come on. Best tell them all everything's okay before they lose their minds."

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed my first real attempt at crackish comedy! I wanted to write a sort of recap of all the ridiculous things that have happened between Kurt and Blaine without actually making Kurt do a stereotypical monologue…so, I'm hoping I succeeded. Tell me? **

**This was a shameless plug for the meeting between Kurt and Dave from BTW. No regrets….**

**As always, con-crit is loved and appreciated, so REVIEW! XD**


	5. End To A Long Day

**A/N: Time for the final chapter of Making Amends! AAAHHHHHH! XD**

**I can't believe this is finally coming to an end! I've been working on this particular story since I think last year around October or something…..No, it was probably near the beginning of this year…..I have no clue….**

…**Anyway! I have been working on this thing for practically ever, and now I'm finally down to the last chapter! XD **

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><p><em>Previously on Making Amends…<em>

_For the first time in their whole conversation, possibly the first time in their whole high school career, Kurt reached out to Dave. He could feel the large jock freeze in shock as he laid his hand on the bigger teen's shoulder. Slowly turning his head, Dave looked into Kurt's eyes, somewhat confused by what he saw there. He could tell that Kurt's eyes were warmer, friendlier than they had ever been towards him, but he didn't know the reason why. The smile on the boy's pale face seemed to match the emotion behind those blue eyes, and what came out stunned Dave to his core. _

"_I forgive you, Dave."_

_Dave's entire body jerked suddenly when he heard those quiet words come out of Kurt's mouth. He could feel the slight sting of tears appear behind his eyes, but he didn't bother trying to wipe them away. His arms went numb as his heart threatened to beat so hard that his ribs would break. As small, relieved tears slid down his face, Dave began to smile. _

"_Thank you, Kurt."_

_Kurt smiled back before jerking his head over to the patio. "Now, come on. Best tell them all everything's okay before they lose their minds."_

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><p>But, sadly, Kurt was very wrong. Everyone had already lost their minds while Brittany played detective trying to find them. (Just joking on the detective part…)<p>

Turns out that while Kurt and Dave were talking about his counseling, and Kurt's relationship drama, the members of both the Warblers and New Directions were starting to come apart at the seams. With the Warblers finally knowing why Kurt had transferred, and why he sometimes acted really jumpy and skittish for no apparent reason, all of them seemed itching to get into a fight or argument to release their pent up anger and frustration.

"I can't believe you never told us, Blaine! If we'd known, we would have been way friendlier and supportive of him!" David exclaimed, waving his arms around. Blaine sighed as he was hearing the same thing be repeated over and over again for the last five minutes.

"I told you, David. Kurt didn't want anyone to know. He hates it when people pity him, and I just know you two would have coddled him to the point of suffocation if you knew beforehand."

"Yeah, so?" Blaine groaned when his point was still not able to penetrate David's thick skull. Looking over at Wes, who had gone quiet for a while, still had a dark scowl on his face.

"Wes, can you please calm David down? He'll work himself up into a fit if he doesn't stop." But Blaine's pleas went unheard when all he received in response was mumbled phrases like, "won't know what hit him," and, "the trusty gavel can do it easily." Blaine facepalmed when he realized that Wes hadn't heard a word he said, but instead, was conniving intricate gavel-related plans to assault Karofsky when he least expects it.

"I cannot believe this is happening." Blaine moaned when he saw that the rest of the Warblers were in no better shape, each one distracted by how they were going to handle the former tormentor of one of their own.

Now, Blaine would normally have been very touched to see such camaraderie and brotherhood in honor of Kurt, but now was definitely not the time when they knew they could have the New Directions sign alibis for them in case something _unforeseen_ should occur to Karofsky before he left school grounds. And it definitely wouldn't be good for him should Kurt catch wind of this before he could stop it. He knew how much his boyfriend hated getting involved with crazy schemes, his own past experience teaching him valuable lessons about how it can bite you in the ass later (read: Bambi and Single Ladies), so he could just imagine Kurt giving him an earful should he not try to contain the situation.

"Oh, please, this is natural. How else did you think they were going to react?" Blaine jerked his head up to look into the eyes of Puck. Blaine looked confused for a moment before he caught on.

"I know I shouldn't be surprised since they all really like Kurt, but this could quickly spiral out of control. If I'm the only sane one among them, it's not going to be pretty when those two come back over here." Puck nodded his head in response, shockingly calm and collected for once.

"Yeah, but hey, he's our boy. We want to take care of him. Keep him safe. You know that. Besides, if anything does start going crazy, Kurt'll put them in their place. He can be really scary when he wants to be." Puck shuddered at what had to be a traumatic memory that Kurt must have caused, but Blaine didn't need to know any details. If it was something to make a juvenile hall-hardened badass like Puck to be wary, Blaine had enough sense to be afraid, _very_ afraid.

However, he wasn't able to dwell on what Kurt could have possibly done to put Puck on edge because all at once, everyone heard the most random of sounds.

Pure laughter.

With shocked and awed eyes, everyone turned to watch in disbelief as Kurt and Dave began laughing hysterically….together. They watched as Kurt's lithe body doubled over as laugh after musical laugh erupted from his pale throat. Right next to him, Dave's bulk shook with every chuckle and snort, his thick arms protecting his clearly splitting sides. Both boys were laughing loud and long, not even aware that the air had gone absolutely silent in their wake.

For one pure moment, Blaine honestly thought there was a gas leak and he was trapped in a hallucination. Peering at Puck out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Puck was having a similar thought. What they were seeing just couldn't be real. How in the world did his insane, drugged mind produce the image he was seeing, his boyfriend cackling to the point of tears with his former bully?

"How is this even possible?" Puck whispered in shock.

"When I find that darn gas leak, I'll tell you." Blaine retorted, earning a distant snort to his right from the mohawked teen.

When the two had calmed, Kurt did something that Blaine thought he would never do in a million years.

He reached out and put his hand on the other Karofsky's shoulder.

Blaine would later swear that he heard everyone's jaw drop, smacking violently into the cement of the patio. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Kurt apparently saying something that nearly brought the bulky jock to tears, if the glimmering tracks going down his broad cheeks were any indication. Then he saw Kurt jerk his head back towards the two glee clubs. It was only when Kurt had risen from the bench did Blaine start to panic. He had two glee clubs he was responsible for, one filled with teenage boys with a taste for revenge, and now Kurt was going to come back over and see how everything had gone to pot.

Just great.

He saw them walking back across the grass, much closer and far more comfortable in the other's presence than before. Blaine was still frozen by how everything had pulled a one-eighty in the last few minutes, but Kurt's smiling face brought him back.

As soon as Kurt was within arm's distance, he pounced, quickly checking him over for any damage, although he knew there would be none since he had been present the whole time. Kurt playfully rolled his eyes as he realized what Blaine was doing, grabbing onto his hand and slowly running his fingers over the back, calming his boyfriend down significantly.

"Are you alright, Kurt?" Blaine couldn't stop the question as it burst from his lips. Kurt smiled even more, inwardly glowing at Blaine's fussing over him. Dave politely looked away, but didn't move from his spot next to Kurt.

"I'm fine, Blaine. Honestly, you'd think I went to Paris for a week without telling you. Everything's just fine." Kurt assured, watching as Blaine relaxed by degrees until he was no longer about to jump out of his skin.

Blaine could feel his stiff muscles slowly begin to unwind with each swipe of Kurt's fingers and with every soothing word he spoke. But he could still see that Dave hadn't left Kurt's side, although he wasn't staring at them in blatant disgust, which was a plus. What wasn't a plus, however, were the dark looks each of the Warblers were throwing Dave's way, which he had yet to notice. But before Blaine could warn either of them, Wes and David had already stormed up, practically getting into Dave's face.

"_What are you trying to pull?" _Wes spat, glaring all the harder when Dave just looked confused instead of afraid, which is what Wes had originally was going for. Dave looked at the seething Asian in front of him, then to the equally pissed African American beside him. Finally, he looked to Kurt who was watching the other two with a frustrated expression.

"Uh, Kurt, can you translate? I have no idea what they're talking about." Kurt sighed heavily because he knew exactly what Wes and David were doing. He was intimately versed in male posturing from New Directions.

"I would, but I already know." Kurt straightened his spine, forcefully walking in between Wes and Dave. "Wes, stop this right now." Wes looked affronted, but didn't back down.

"But, Kurt, you know what he-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. Yes, I know exactly what he did, and you know what? He's sorry. I can tell that you don't believe that, but I do. He's sorry and it's over. I've already forgiven him." Kurt's statement was punctuated by nearly every Warbler shouting in protest. They clearly couldn't believe that Kurt could just forgive the guy after what he did.

Wes and David were speechless. Sputtering, they tried to make a comeback. "But how can you-?"

"Guys, stop! I forgave him a while ago. It's _over_. If you continue to make a big deal over this, I will do something that all of you will regret." Kurt steeled his eyes, turning them ice cold as he expertly put the fear of Kurt Hummel into his fellow Warblers. "And if you don't believe me Wes, we'll just see how long you last after I steal your gavel and force you to watch as I shove it through a wood chipper and burn its remains."

Wes's face drained of all color. He could tell that Kurt meant every word. Hell, everyone could tell that he meant it.

"Not my baby!" Wes squealed, clutching the beloved object to his chest. Now, if Kurt had the motivation, he could have wondered how Wes had kept the gavel on his person without anyone knowing (his blazer and pants having limited pocket space), but he wisely decided not to. There were just some things Kurt didn't need the answers to.

Snapping his head to the side, he glared at the rest of Dalton boys. Shrinking back under those cold glasz eyes, they dropped their threatening postures and stayed silent. Nodding his head, he turned back to Dave.

"Alright, now that that's settled, I think you guys need to head back to Lima. Who knows if a teacher will start making rounds and find all of you? Then we'll all get demerits for having guests without someone being notified." Dave nodded in agreement. The rest of New Directions looked a little put out that they didn't get to see a fight or get to spend any one-on-one time with Kurt, but even they knew that staying would probably end up with all the other boys getting into trouble.

All of the girls except for Lauren all went to hug Kurt, each extracting promises of some girl time over the next weekend or so. The boys clapped Kurt on the back, telling the beloved countertenor that if he needed anything, that all he had to do was call. Kurt smiled sadly as he watched his old glee club prepare to leave, but he knew that he would be able to see them when he got home. Finn was the last to hug him, giving him an apologetic smile for causing the whole ordeal and invading the Warblers' meeting. Kurt just shrugged and hugged him back.

"I'll see you at dinner, bro." Finn said.

"Of course, Finn, I'm making it." Kurt retorted, causing Finn to laugh.

"So, can we have burgers then?" Finn asked hopefully, pulling the puppy eyes on his shorter brother. Kurt just sighed.

"How about you eat what I give you and I'll make some brownies for later, hm?"

Finn squealed before grabbing Kurt in a strong hug, picking him up off the ground while the smaller brunet tried to act angry through the wide grin on his face. "Thank you!"

"Ack! Finn, you big lummox, put me down!" Kurt shouted playfully. Finn just kept smiling as he spun around with Kurt still trapped in his arms, his feet a good five inches off the cement.

The tense atmosphere was effectively shattered by the hilarious interactions between the two brothers. A few of the Warblers couldn't stop the rising chuckles as they bubbled to the surface, overshadowing the negative emotions they had moments before. Of course, a few of the larger members kept a watch on Dave, who was standing off to the side, not moving to interrupt, simply watching with a small, relieved smile on his face. The older members, and many of the younger ones that had befriended Kurt, decided to just observe the former bully, and not risk Kurt's formidable wrath by trying to start anything now that the majority of the drama was over.

After Finn finally set Kurt back on the ground, they exchanged their temporary farewells until a few hours later when they would meet again at the house. Stepping away, only Kurt and Dave were left face to face.

Dave gingerly approached the countertenor, now mindful of the many attentive gazes to his every move. Stopping about a foot away, Dave nervously rubbed the back of his head as he wracked his brain for something, anything, to say to the young man before him, the former object of his ire and misguided actions, now the one who granted him undeserved forgiveness for the many terrible things he was responsible for. Dave couldn't think of anything articulate to say to Kurt, couldn't convey in pitiable words the immense gratitude and humility he felt for Kurt's compassion. Deciding that the simplest statements were the best, he had only one thing to say.

"Thank you, Kurt. Not just for forgiving me, but for inspiring me to finally accept myself. I can't thank you enough for all the help you've given me, whether you knew it or not. Thank you."

Kurt couldn't stop the small tears from building in his glasz eyes, the strong surge of emotion concerning the reformation of the boy in front of him. He couldn't believe the drastic, almost unbelievable change between the teen smiling at him in gratitude from the angry, paranoid, violent boy that he was all those months ago.

"I'm glad I could help you. I'm glad that everything has turned out all right... Well, mostly all right. You're welcome, Dave."

Reaching out, Kurt took Dave's hand, a firm, friendly handshake between them before Kurt surprised Dave by pulling him forward, enveloping him in a spontaneous hug. And while Kurt was unaware of the many shocked faces behind him, including his boyfriend's, Dave was able to see them out of his peripheral vision as he felt his own awe at the intimate gesture.

Wrapping his large arms around the slime brunet, Dave felt something, deep inside of him, slide into place, something that made everything else he was feeling complete. Dave was momentarily bewildered at the sensation, but feeling the smaller body in his arms, he slowly figured it out.

For the first time in he didn't know how long, Dave felt pure acceptance and pride.

Kurt understood the tumultuous emotions and varying issues he was going through because he went through them himself. Kurt, even when Dave had been making his life a living Hell after he unwittingly exposed his secret, had only wanted to help because he didn't want Dave to go through it all alone. Dave sure as Hell knew that he didn't deserve Kurt's consideration, but realizing that he had it, that Kurt was looking out for him even after all the shit he put him through, humbled Dave to his core.

Tightening the embrace for just a second more, Dave let Kurt go. Stepping back and forcing the next well of tears from breaking to the surface, Dave nodded to Kurt before turning and walking out the door to meet up with the rest of New Directions for the drive home.

As soon as Dave closed the patio door behind him, Kurt allowed himself to breathe, shutting his eyes momentarily to keep the fountain of conflicting emotions from showing. It had been a very long hour, although that one hour felt like days, and he just needed a moment to calm his thoughts. Hearing the muted click of dress shoes behind him, Kurt smiled slightly when he felt the familiar warmth of Blaine's body as he sidled up next to the brunet. Turning his sky blue eyes to Blaine's hazel, he took his boyfriend's olive-skinned hand in his own, leaning against the other boy's shoulder.

"Are you okay, Kurt?" Blaine's question, filled with multiple meanings, was whispered into the small, intimate atmosphere that seemed to envelope the two boys. Nodding softly, Kurt tilted his head towards Blaine's.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just unexpected, ya know….But in a good way." Blaine nodded, slipping an arm around Kurt's waist and holding him even closer, feeling the warmth and comfort he had to offer seep into the other.

The other Warblers began to slip back into the school, deciding to leave the two alone to come to terms with everything they had been bombarded with today. After the majority of the glee club had stepped back inside, Wes and David stopped outside of the doorway. Looking back at their two friends, seeing them cuddled up together on the patio, surrounded by the bursts of color from the neighboring flowerbeds as a gentle wind blew, they couldn't help but smile. Sure, they were all thrown for a loop that day, past actions finally being brought to light and unexpected confrontations coming to the forefront, but all in all, everything turned out alright.

Turning inside and closing the door gently behind them, Wes and David meandered back to the commons room. Sighing, Wes knew that the meeting might as well be over thanks to New Directions' interruption, his excruciatingly detailed, prepared speech on Regionals no longer having any importance over the drama that had unfolded, but that was okay. Everyone was okay.

Kurt had come out on top, not only against bullying in general, but against his own painful, shadowed past as well. Blaine, though understandably upset over the whole situation, allowed Kurt to deal with it on his own terms, and it turned out just fine. The Warblers learned how truly strong their dear countertenor was, and their respect for him grew ten times over. And Dave? Even though Wes and David, and practically everyone else in their glee club, couldn't really find it in themselves to forgive Dave for what he had done to Kurt, he still managed to come to terms with himself and was changing for the better, with coming to Kurt to personally apologize being another step in his recovery. And all of it translating into being a long day for everybody.

Wes sighed again, only coming out of his reverie when David nudged his shoulder in question as they stood outside the common room, the white noise of naturally rambunctious teenage boys filling the background as they prepared to go home. Wes just waved him off, smiling.

Yes, it had been a very long day, indeed. But a most productive one as well.

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><p><strong>AN: …Oh my freaking God, this is FINALLY DONE! I swear to Grilled Cheesus, this was a humongous bitch to finish (sorry for the swearing, but it's warranted for this)! For so long, I've been stymied over how to end this stupid thing, and now, just a random afternoon when I should be studying for a Philosophy exam and a test for Science & Religion, I decide to finish this instead. **

…**.Eh, still not 100% on the ending, but oh well, it's done. No point trying to hash out anything better since the drama-comedy-angsty stuff is all over. Wanted a little fluffy to make us all warm and fuzzy inside, so I hope it worked. Please review, everyone that put this on Story Alert or Author Alert, cuz that would totally make my day (and perhaps my whole week since Fall Break starts in few days for me!). **

**So, now that the final pleasantries are over, I shall bid you all "Adieu!"….For now! ;P**


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